If you’ve landed on this page it is likely because you (like us up until a few days ago) are still awaiting your Ryanair refund for your 2020 cancelled flight. After several attempts to contact their customer support staff, communicating to bots via their social media channels and a number of email exchanges, we finally managed to receive our money back in a very quick and easy way. So without further ado, let me tell you what has worked for us with getting our money back.
Our flights were booked for June 2020. Soon after the pandemic hit the world, Ryanair, as did all other airlines, began cancelling their flights giving their customers the option to either receive a full refund or a voucher which would be used within one year. We went for the first option and opted to receive a full refund.
Live chat on their website together with email exchanges weren’t a problem the first few months following the cancellation. But as the pandemic entered a second wave and flights continued being cancelled, these communication channels appear to have been switched off and the only option (or at least the one I could come across) was to communicate via a bot, hoping to receive some form of decent reply some days later. But that didn’t happen either. So how did I get our money back?
Before I share with you the step by step process, I want you to know that this is what has worked for us but it may not work for everyone. Nonetheless if you have been waiting for your Ryaniar refund month after month, I suggest you follow these simple steps and hope you too will get your refund in the next couple of days. So here it goes:
- Go to Ryanair’s website
- Navigate to ‘Help’
- Look for ‘Refunds & Travel Vouchers’ under ‘Covid-19 Updates’
- You will see three options (see below). Choose the third option: Can I receive a refund in cash instead of a voucher?
- A form will come up where you will be asked to fill in the email address used for your booking together with your booking reference. You must also tick both tick boxes
- Click ‘Submit’ and you’re done. You should receive your refund within 7 business days
Away from the Ryanair refund, I just want to also write a few words and (continue to) praise the service of Auto Europe, which is undoubtedly our all-time favourite and go-to car hire company for the past 8 years or so. They normally let you cancel for free up to 48 hours prior to your pick-up, but given the circumstances they offered one of the two options: a full refund or a voucher which could have been used within the next three years. We chose to receive a refund which was received in a matter of 3 days! How’s that for a superb service?
If you haven’t previously used Auto Europe, they are a car hire aggregator who shows prices for, and let you book any one of the several giant car hire providers such as Hertz, Sixt, Budget and many more!
Similarly, Hotels Combined does the same for accommodation. You simply run a search for accommodation in your destination, choose a hotel and Hotels Combined will provide you with the different prices offered by different accommodation providers such as Booking.com, Agoda and many others. It’s that simple!
Now back to the Ryanair refund. Should you require any help with your refund please do let us know and we will help as best as we can. If following our footsteps works for you, or should you know someone who is still awaiting their refund, feel free to share this post so that together we can help other fellow travellers receiving their money back! This too shall pass and it is hopefully only a matter of a few more months before we can all travel safely again! Until then, stay safe!
